


Mall Day

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21585319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Despite being sick, Alex goes to the mall with Jack.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Mall Day

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request!

“Alex, are you sure that you still want to go to the mall? I totally understand if you’re not feeling well enough to,” Jack said as he started to drive out of Alex’s driveway.   
They were currently off tour, but both of them had been super busy with family and friend commitments, so they made plans a few weeks out to go to the mall together for some guy time for just the two of them.   
Unfortunately, Alex had gotten the flu a few days before they were supposed to go to the mall. He’d spent the days leading up to it resting as much as possible, and was doing a bit better now, but still had a low-grade fever, congestion, and a cough. Despite this, he insisted on keeping their plans, not wanting to break his promise to Jack.  
“I’ll be okay, don’t worry. I don’t want us to have to cancel this because of me,” Alex replied, coughing a bit.  
“I mean, we still could’ve hung out. Either on a different day, or we could’ve just had a movie marathon at your house,” Jack continued.  
“I know, but I really wanted to keep this commitment, since we’ve both been looking forward to it for so long. I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me,” Alex insisted.  
“As long as you’re sure. Anyway, what stores do you want to go to?” Jack asked.  
“Maybe a shoe store, I’ve been wanting a new pair for a while but have been to busy to go and shop for some. Oh, and we definitely have to check out Guitar Center,” Alex replied.  
“Oh, definitely. I heard that they got some new models in recently!” Jack exclaimed.  
“This is going to be so fun!” Alex replied, blowing his nose. Once they got to the mall, Jack parked as close to the entrance as possible, not wanting to make Alex have to walk too far.  
“Let’s go to the Vans store first,” Alex suggested. They made their way to the Vans store and started to look around.  
“Woah, check these out!” Jack said, telling Alex to come see what he’d found. He was holding up a new pair of checkered Vans, and they both instantly really liked them.  
“Those rule! I want to try them on!” Alex said back. Jack went up to one of the workers and asked for the shoes in their sizes. Once they tried them on, they decided that they both loved them.  
“Are we about to get matching shoes?” Jack asked, laughing some.  
“I think so,” Alex replied, laughing back. Once they paid for the shoes, they walked out of the store.  
“Where to next?” Jack asked.  
“I don’t know, maybe-“ Alex cut himself off by having a coughing fit. Jack was quick to set both of their bags down on the ground and rub Alex’s back until the fit finally went away.  
“Are you okay?” Jack asked, sounding concerned.  
“Yeah, my throat is still a bit sore, which is why I keep coughing so much,” Alex explained. Jack put his hand to Alex’s forehead.  
“You still feel pretty warm, are you sure you want to stay?” Jack asked. He didn’t want to annoy Alex due to asking him this so much, but he was concerned because it seemed like Alex was sicker than he was letting on.   
“Yeah dude, I’ll be alright, but I appreciate the concern. Want to look in a couple of clothing stores before we go to Guitar Center?” Alex suggested.  
“As long as you’re sure. And, yeah, let’s do that,” Jack replied.   
The two of them spent a little under an hour looking in a couple different clothing stores, both buying a few things from each. Jack could see that Alex was getting worn out but was trying to hide this from Jack. Jack decided to not say anything, he didn’t want to piss off Alex by continuing to ask, so he decided that if Alex did start to feel really bad, he would speak up about it.   
On the walk from American Eagle to Guitar Center, Alex had another loud coughing fit, which made his throat sting.  
“Man, that really hurt. I still want to go in here, though,” Alex said, his voice raspier now. Jack didn’t say anything as they walked into the store.  
“Look at this one! Try it out, dude!” Jack said, pulling down an acoustic guitar for Alex, but Alex refused to take it.  
“I don’t think I should play anything; I don’t want to get anyone else sick by touching it. You’ll just have to try it for the both of us,” Alex said, sneezing into his hands. Jack shrugged as he started to strum the guitar and make chords on its neck.  
“It plays well, but I still like my acoustic guitar better,” Jack said, putting the guitar back on its wall mount. They continued to look around the front of the store, and eventually found themselves in the limited-edition section in the back of the store.  
“Holy shit, look at this one, it’s beautiful!” Alex exclaimed, pointing to a baby blue electric Fender guitar.  
“Shit, it really is,” Jack said, picking it up to try it out.  
“I wish I could play that one. I bet it’ll be long gone by the time I’m well enough to play it,” Alex said, sounding a bit bummed.  
“So, do what all rock stars would do, and just buy it,” Jack suggested.  
“I wish. I can’t just drop two grand on a guitar, dude,” Alex said, looking at the price tag in disappointment.   
“Maybe they’ll make this model again,” Jack said, trying to lighten the mood.  
“Jack, if they were to remake this again, it wouldn’t really be a limited edition,” Alex said with a laugh that quickly turned into a cough. Jack rubbed his friends’ back until he was okay again.  
“I guess you’ve got a point there. It’s a shame, it plays almost as beautiful as it looks,” Jack said, putting the guitar back on its stand.  
“Let’s go to another store, being around all of these guitars and not being able to play them is painful for me,” Alex said, partly joking and partly serious. Suddenly, Jack got an idea.  
“Good idea. Hey, let’s go to the JC Penny,” Jack stated.  
“Why? Isn’t that, like, on the other side of the mall?” Alex asked.  
“It is, but I wanted to look at their shirts. One of my buddies said that they had some really great deals right now,” Jack said, trying to sound convincing.  
“Okay, let’s head over there, I guess,” Alex replied.   
They slowly walked over, Alex’s aches were starting to creep back up on him, and his energy was quickly starting to decline. Once they finally got there, Jack took them to the very back of the store before pulling his phone out.  
“Oh shit, dude. I’m getting a call I have to take. Can you stay here and look around, I’m going to step out for a minute,” Jack started.  
“Oh, are you sure you don’t want me to come?” Alex asked, blowing his nose again.  
“No, you look at the shirts, you’ll probably pick out something better than I would, anyway. I’ve got to go!” Jack exclaimed, running to the exit before Alex could say anything else.   
He went back to the other side of the mall as fast as he could and walked back into the Guitar Center. When he saw that the baby blue Fender was still there, he smiled as he grabbed it off its stand and took it to the front counter.  
“Hey, I was hoping to buy this,” Jack said to the guy behind the counter.  
“That’s a beauty,” the cashier said as he rung it up.  
“For sure. My best friend really loved it, so I’m getting it for him,” Jack explained.  
“It sounds like you’re an awesome friend, then” the cashier replied.  
“I try to be,” Jack said as he paid with his card.  
“Well, I hope your friend enjoys it,” the cashier said, handing Jack the guitar that he’d put into a case for safekeeping.   
“Oh, he will. Thanks for your help!” Jack exclaimed, leaving the store. He didn’t want Alex to see the case and immediately know what was going on, so Jack quickly ran the guitar out to his car and put it in the trunk.   
Alex hadn’t texted or called Jack, so Jack figured that Alex was still at the JC Penny. Jack quickly went back to that side of the mall, and found Alex sitting on a chair outside of the store, looking significantly worse.   
He was hugging himself and was having another coughing fit. Jack walked over and sat in the chair next to Alex and rubbed his back until the fit went away. Alex looked up at Jack, and Jack noticed how much more flushed Alex’s cheeks were, and that he looked a lot more tired and worn out.  
“Alex, I think we should go back to your house now. I can tell you’re miserable,” Jack said.  
“I do feel pretty awful. Wait, what about your shirt?” Alex asked, pointing to JC Penny.  
“I can do that another day, let’s just get you home. I can hang out with you there, how does that sound?” Jack offered.  
“I’d like that. Sorry I’m so sick,” Alex rasped, sneezing after.  
“You don’t have to be sorry; you can’t help it. Besides, I’m not mad, let’s just get you home,” Jack said, making Alex give a small smile as a thank you.   
The two of them made their way back to Jack’s car, and Jack made sure that Alex didn’t look into the trunk so he wouldn’t see the guitar yet.   
About halfway through the drive, Alex started coughing loudly again, and Jack tried to put his hand on Alex’s back while still focusing on the road.  
“Geez, you’re really sick, aren’t you?” Jack asked.  
“More so than I’d like to admit,” Alex replied, his voice sounding worse now. Jack went back to driving and the rest of the car ride was silent.  
“Go on in and set yourself up in the living room, I’ll be right in,” Jack instructed.  
“Okay, sounds good,” Alex replied. Once Alex was inside, Jack grabbed the guitar and quietly went inside Alex’s house. He set the guitar down in the doorway where Alex wouldn’t be able to see it from the couch and walked into the living room with a big smile on his face.   
Alex had gotten himself a new box of tissues, a glass of water, and a thick blanket and got himself comfortable on the couch. Once he was done, he looked up and saw Jack and his big grin.  
“What’re you so happy?” Alex asked with a sneeze.  
“I did a thing,” Jack replied, getting more excited. He loved to surprise his friends, so this surprise for Alex made him really happy.  
“What does that mean?” Alex asked back.  
“Shut your eyes, and I’ll tell you when you can open them,” Jack instructed. Alex did this, then Jack grabbed the guitar from where he’d left it. He leaned it up against the coffee table and sat on the other end of the couch.  
“Okay, open your eyes!” Jack said. Alex did this, and his jaw immediately dropped.  
“Jack, you didn’t,” Alex said, unwrapping the case, revealing the beautiful baby blue Fender from earlier.  
“Jack, I’m lost for words. Why’d you do this?” Alex asked, already starting to strum the guitar.  
“Well, you really liked it, and I felt bad that you forced yourself to go out feeling so terrible for me. And, I think it’ll look pretty sweet on the next tour!” Jack replied.   
“Thank you so much, you didn’t have to do this,” Alex said, still in shock.  
“And you don’t have to do half of the things that you do for me. Its just a thank you for being such a great friend to me over all of these years,” Jack continued.  
“Go get one of my guitars from downstairs, and we can jam for a bit!” Alex stated.  
“Are you sure you’re up for that?” Jack asked.  
“Jack, I think it would be insulting to the guitar if we didn’t break it in a little bit. Come on, let’s do it!” Alex exclaimed. Jack got one of Alex’s guitars from his studio room and brought it back down to the living room.   
During their jam session, they played covers of some of their favorite songs, then played some of their own music. After about half an hour, Alex decided that he needed a nap since he was very worn out at this point. Jack stayed with him for the rest of the day, and they both felt very lucky to have the other in their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is another request for CNF! Tomorrow, I plan on posting my last Thanksgiving story, but it's going to have to be early in the morning, because I work all day, then have to have a meal with my family! I hope you all liked this one, and I'll have more up soon! Please continue sending requests! Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
